PUP denied QLD gov inquiry

An attempt by Clive Palmer's political party to dig into the Queensland government has been shot down before even being voted on.

Palmer United Party senator Glenn Lazarus tried in the Senate to form a committee to investigate "certain aspects of the Queensland government administration related to Commonwealth government affairs".

His motion was deemed informal, causing some confusion for the PUP senator and stopping him in his tracks.

Motions before the Senate must be granted formality before they can be spoken on or voted on.

Senator Lazarus wants a committee to investigate how much funding was allocated by the Commonwealth government to Queensland and what the funds were for.

He also wanted to look into breaches of funding conditions and the state's criminal system.

Earlier this year, Mr Palmer said one of the party's first actions in the Senate would be to move a motion setting up an inquiry into alleged corruption in Queensland Premier Campbell Newman's government.